Jackson Man Pleads Guilty under Project EJECT to Illegally Selling a Gun

Jackson, Miss. – Michael Mays a/k/a Michael Mayes, 35, of Jackson, pled guilty today before U.S. District Tom S. Lee to knowingly selling a firearm to a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michele Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

On July 19, 2018, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation observed Mays sell a firearm in Jackson to a convicted felon, and upon questioning, Mays admitted to knowing the person to whom he sold the firearm was a convicted felon. It is illegal for a person to sell a firearm to a person he knows or has reasonable cause to believe is a convicted felon. 

Mays was indicted on August 11, 2020.  He will be sentenced by Judge Lee on March 18, 2021.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lynn Murray.

This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for "Empower Justice Expel Crime Together." PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.